Joan Allene Lage

Joan Allene (Hohner) Lage was born on February 21, 1937, at her family's home to Robert Emmitt Hohner and Lola Mae (Bowman) Hohner. She took her last breath on May 30, 2026, one week after a final family gathering with her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, son, and daughter.

Joan grew up attending Riverside Baptist Church with her family, participating in youth camps as a child. Later, in married life, she attended Houston Terrace Baptist and Southeast Baptist Church. From a young age, Joan loved being around people. She met Wanda Jenkins on the first day of 1st grade, a friendship that lasted their lifetimes. In her teenage years, she was actively involved in her school, serving as editor of the Brackenridge High School newspaper, participating in pep squad, and a member of journalism Honor Society “Quill and Scroll.” She was offered a partial scholarship to what is now known as Texas State University, which she declined. She married her high school sweetheart, Jerry Lage, in January 1956. Their daughter, Laurie, was born in 1957, with Jerry “Wayne” following in 1959, and Jeffrey in 1961. Joan and Jerry were avid travelers, a gift they shared with their children, and eventually their grandchildren. When their children lived at home, the entire family took a yearly summer camping vacation. The family also took weekend trips to the coast or the lake, traveling often with her parents and extended family to Mexico. Always a social creature, Joan’s Bunco club met monthly for decades, and the bowling league was a weekly activity. After their children were grown, Joan and Jerry continued traveling with their trailer, making it to 45 states by road trip, also enjoying multiple cruises, including to Alaska, the Caribbean, and several trips to Hawaii, including one with the entire extended Hohner family. They began square dancing in the mid-1970s. This is an activity they enjoyed together for almost three decades, dancing in multiple states. In the winters, they would take their trailer to the Rio Grande Valley and square dance with the other “winter Texans” from November to March.

Joan was preceded in death by Jerry, her husband of 67 years, her father and mother, sister Janis Lane, sister-in-law Betty Pfennig, brother-in-law Bill Pfennig, close nephew Charles “Rusty” Belz, and lifelong friend Wanda (Jenkins) June. She is survived by her three children: Laurie (Britt) Johnson, Wayne Lage, and Jeffrey Lage; 5 grandchildren: Nikki (Brian) Thomason, Brandi (Jason) Bailey, Kristi Johnson, Leslie Lage, and Justin Lage, and 6 great-grandchildren: Marin and Rhodes Thomason, Mia and Nora Bailey, Ariyana Lage, and brother Bill (Linda) Hohner.